[comp.dcom.modems] Modems connected to phone lines with call-waiting

malcolm@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (03/19/89)

Thanks for taking the time to read my posting.

I currently have a Packard-Bell 2400 baud external
modem on a phone line with call waiting.

Sometimes, when I am using the modem over the phone
lines, an incoming phone call will trigger the call-waiting
beep and cause my modem to disconnect.  Other times the beep
causes lots of garbage to be displayed without disconnecting.

Is there a setting on the modem that would also guarantee the
disconnection of the modem from the phone line when the call-waiting
beep beeps?  This particular modem, like most, is Hayes-compatible.

Thanks for your help.

wls@csd4.milw.wisc.edu (Bill Stapleton) (03/24/89)

In article <21989@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> malcolm@CS.UCLA.EDU (Malcolm Lui) writes:
>Sometimes, when I am using the modem over the phone
>lines, an incoming phone call will trigger the call-waiting
>beep and cause my modem to disconnect.  Other times the beep
>causes lots of garbage to be displayed without disconnecting.

I can't help with your original question of how to make Call Waiting *work*
when you're using your modem, but you may be able to *disable* Call Waiting
while you're on the computer.  This seems to vary quite a bit by area,
depending on what type of telephone company switches and what-not you're
connected to - Ask your phone company about the "Cancel Call Waiting"
service.  On my phone, I can dial either *70 tone or 1170 rotary (or tone)
to disable Call Waiting for the rest of the call.  After dialing this, I
get a second dial tone, suitable for a "pause" in dialing from the modem.
In other words, my dial string looks like this:

	ATDT1170,7894321

Since I can't have my modem dial *70 tone, I use the 1170, then a ',' to
wait for the second dial tone, then the phone number.  Hope this helps...

--
Bill Stapleton
     wls@csd4.milw.wisc.edu
     uwvax!uwmcsd1!wls